Control, Acrimony & Taxes! By Caitlin Rothermel Washington state politics are absolutely lit this year. To start, we are broke. As a state, we are broke. Only after the November election did we learn that Washington has at least a $12 billion deficit – maybe more like $15 or $16 billion. On his way out the door,…
February 2025, Island Businesses
A Storefront in Vashon Town
by Andy Valencia As Amazon eats the world, it’s an interesting exercise to walk the town of Vashon and see what sorts of businesses remain. Most have something to do with eating or drinking, and Vashon Bikes makes a fine exception to the rule. Next door to Cafe Luna, they offer a range of new…
February 2025, Island Vehicles
Headlight Encounters of the Third Kind
By Marc J. Elzenbeck Once upon a time, cars all had identical headlights. From 1940 to 1984, there was a United States sealed beam standard. While the adage, “You can’t stop within the reach of your low beams, young fella,” was mostly still true, safety had improved. By 1978, lights could come in both rectangular…
February 2025, Island Interviews
Lushootseed: Language from the Land, Part 1
By Jane Valencia Editor’s Note: Participating in Island life, we hear Land Acknowledgments at events, from organizations, and see them posted at businesses or on websites. Each year, we welcome the Blue Heron canoe family to our shores at the Low Tide Festival at Point Robinson. Up and down the Island, colorful yard signs in…
February 2025, Island Voices
Crows Remember
By Seán Malone and John Sweetman Seán has always fed birds, and his deck has been full of them ever since he began to live in the cabin. At first, I noticed at least one crow would be very skeptical if Seán poked his head out the patio door. Seán’s story explains why. We were…
February 2025, Island Voices
Post-Christmas
By Gates Johnson What does one my age do when the holiday chaos has passed? Remember all those appointments and meetings and lunches and whatnot that got put on the back burner while attending to more pressing things? Well, the time has come. So, here I go. First off, those visits to specialists that were…
February 2025, Island Voices
Let’s Save Our Democracy, Together
By March Twisdale “Please do not come to my house to clean. I can’t have someone in my home who supports this administration and the destruction of our democracy. I am not open to any discussion.” This is the text I received two days after President Trump’s inauguration. To be clear, I worked for this…
February 2025, Island Voices
Oh, To Be 80 Again!
By Suzanna Leigh Journal Entry – by Suzanna Leigh “How do you spend your days, now that you are 100 years old and retired?” I asked my mom, Marj Watkins. Waiting patiently while she struggled to find the words, I resisted the impulse to fill in the word I thought she might want. I thought…
February 2025, Island Voices
The Planting of a Monastery
Contesting the constitutionality of an Oregon county’s zoning law was not the beginning foundation we wanted for our monastery. We saw this zoning code as a possible sign that this farm was not the place God intended for us. With Great Lent nearing completion, we decided to put off any further decision until after Pascha….